The Poem Teacher by Langston Hughes - 536 Words

Sometimes we learn the most about life when it’s too late, and that’s what happened to the speaker in the poem â€Å"Teacher†. â€Å"Teacher† by Langston Hughes is a serious poem about a person who didn’t live their life with morals and when he dies, he regrets his life choices and experiences the true dark and dreariness of death. This poem sends a message that people need to live life as best they can, that hope is an important and wonderful part of life, and that regret is the worst thing to have after life is over. â€Å"Teacher† is a lyric poem and it is in a quatrain structure. It has 4 stanzas and 16 lines. It is a lyric poem because it displays the emotions of the speaker and has a musical sense to it. This poem has a very distinct rhyme scheme, being that every other line has an end rhyme. The meter ranges from 3 to 6. Every different thought in thins poem is organized in its own stanza, The speaker in Hughes’ poem comes off as a dead person who is thinking to himself about his past and the way he lived his life and where he is now. In line 3 (â€Å"I tried†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ) the speaker talks in first person and throughout the whole poem there is no indication that he is taking to anyone else. Line 9 (â€Å"But now I lie beneath cool loam†) supports the idea that the speaker is dead. The tone in the poem stays serious throughout but slowly becomes more and more dramatic. The tone it express a loss of hope, it is regretful, dreary, and gloomy because it uses words like à ¢â‚¬Ëœfirm,’ ‘pinched,’ ‘gleam,’Show MoreRelatedLangston Hughes Essay1084 Words   |  5 PagesLangston Hughes was a large influence on the African-American population of America. Some of the ways he did this was how his poetry influenced Martin Luther King Jr. and the Harlem Renaissance. These caused the civil rights movement that resulted in African-Americans getting the rights that they deserved in the United States. Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin, Missouri. His parents divorced when he was young and his grandmother raised him. She got him into literature and education; she was one ofRead MoreLangston Hughes Theme For English B845 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"Theme for English B† Langston Hughes dramatizes race and self-identity. Hughes is struggling to relate himself to his teacher and everyone around him, so he starts off by telling readers about his background such as his age and where he has lived. â€Å"I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston- Salem† (2). Through the first stanza of the poem we know that Hughes is living through a time where race is a big issue and not too many African American adolescents are in school like he is. He is learningRead MoreEssay on Langston Hughes1393 Words   |  6 PagesLangston Hughes  Langston Hughes was one of the first black men to express the spirit of blues and jazz into words. An African American Hughes became a well known poet, novelist, journalist, and playwright. Because his father emigrated to Mexico and his mother was often away, Hughes was brought up in Lawrence, Kansas, by his grandmother Mary Langston. Her second husband (Hughess grandfather) was a fierce abolitionist. She helped Hughes to see the cause of social justice. As aRead MoreEssay Langston Hughes932 Words   |  4 Pages Langston Hughes Throughout many of Langston Hughes poetry, there seems to be a very strong theme of racism. Poems such as Ballad of the Landlord, I, Too, and Dinner Guest: Me are some good examples of that theme. The Ballad of the Landlord addresses the issue of prejudice in the sense of race as well as class. The lines My roof has sprung a leak. / Dont you member I told you about it/ Way last week? (Hughes 2/4) show the reader that the speaker, the tenant, is of a much lower classRead MoreBiography of Langston Hughes Essay1046 Words   |  5 Pages The well known poet Langston Hughes was an inspiring character during the Harlem Renaissance to provide a push for the black communities to fight for the rights they deserved. Hughes wrote his poetry to deliver important messages and provide support to the movements. When he was at a young age a teacher introduced him to poets Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, and they inspired him to start his own. 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The act of literacy for African-Americans was depicted as a radical, self-conscious act in Hughes output. This is explicitly seen in Hughes poem Theme for English B. The poem very literally po rtrays a young, African-American man (presumably Hughes himself) being given an assignment by a white teacher to writeRead MoreThe Writing Style Of Langston Hughes1001 Words   |  5 Pagescollective, is one of the many legacies of Hughes, who has been called â€Å"the architect† of the black poetic tradition. He is certainly one of the world’s most universally beloved poets, read by children and teachers, scholars and poets, musicians and historians. Langston Hughes became the voice of black America in the 1920s, when his first published poems brought him more than moderate success. 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Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri in 1902. His parents separated early in his life, he lived with his mother in Kansas City. Langston Hughes attended High School where as a senior he wrote, â€Å"The Negro Speaks of Rivers.† Langston became a Merchant

Property In Dubai A Bubble That Burst - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 17 Words: 5144 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Economics Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? With this dissertation what I would like to achieve is the following: I will carry out extensive research on the economic theory behind booms and bursts. I will look at some of the booms and bursts throughout history. I will attempt to make my own economic model behind what caused a boom and its subsequent burst and see if this model can be applied to the economic situation of the property market in Dubai. If a number of variables existed that suggested a burst might be coming, why was nothing done to stop it? 1.2: A brief history of Dubai Thirty years ago almost all of modern Dubai was desert. In the mid 18th century a small nomadic group settled there and built a small town. This small townà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s underlying asset being pearls. The pearl trade attracted people from all over the middle à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ east, all with dreams of prosperity. The town was named à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Dabaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ after a local locust that consumed everything it encountered. This rapidly gro wing town was soon acquired by the Gunships of the British army. Britain maintained control of the area until 1971(The Independent2009). In 1971 Dubai and five surrounding sheikhdoms (Abu Dhabi, Al Fujayrah, Ajman, Umm al Qaywayn and Sharjah) agreed on a federal constitution and became The United Arab Emirates or UAE. In February 1972 a seventh Sheikhdom, Ras al Khaymah joined the UAE. At this point Sheikh Zayid Ibn Sultan Al Nuhayyan of Abu Dhabi became the first president of the UAE. The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid ibn Said Al Maktum was named vice president, and his eldest son, Sheikh Maktum ibn Rashid Al Maktum, the prince of Dubai, became prime minister. In 1990 Sheikh Maktum succeeded his father as ruler of Dubai and as vice president and prime minister of the UAE (Library of Congress2007). It was around 1971, as the British were leaving that oil was first discovered. However to say that Dubai relied on oil for its growth would be wrong. Dubai had very little oil relative to its neighbouring emirate Abu Dhabi. So Sheikh Maktum had to diversify. He used oil revenues to create something he thought sustainable. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Israel used to boast it made the desert bloom; Sheikh Maktum resolved to make the desert boomà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (The Independent 2009). It became a hub for tourism and financial services, Attracting capital and expertise from all over the globe. He invited the world to come tax free, and people came in their millions. A city seemed to descend from the heavens in thirty years. Would it be sustainable? (Source : The Independent, The Dark side of Dubai, 7 April 2009) (Source: Country Profile : UAE. Library of Congress à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Federal Research division, July 2007) 1.3: From Boom to bust over night. I arrived in Dubai in 2007 at a point when it was said that a third of the worldà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s construction equipment was in Dubai. It was the second fastest growing city in the world (second to Moscow) and appeared to be one big con struction site. Skyscrapers were appearing over night to cater for increases in demand in property. However, a large part of this demand for property was merely speculatory. Investments in property appeared to be highly attractive and beneficial, especially to foreign investors earning in non dollar currencies. I say this because the dirham is pegged to the dollar (3.75 dhms per US Dollar). It was around late 2007 early 2008 that the dollar reached its weakest point making property in Dubai cheaper to people earning pounds for example. People also assumed that the dollar would one day appreciate; therefore giving investors that extra incentive. Dubaià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s popularity was rapidly increasing and it was booming in the true definition of the word. However in September of 2008 things changed. See the following line graph of average residential sales prices to appreciate the extent of the crash. Figure 1 Residential sale prices (AED/ft2) Source: Landmark Advisory Board 2010. As you can see in Q408 both the average price of apartments and villas plummet from a mutual peak of 1500 AED/ft2 to around 900 AED/ft2 from one month to the next. This is a massive average decrease of 40 percent. I will attempt to demonstrate why this rapid increase in residential prices occurred and its subsequent decline and decide whether the boom and bust can be considered a bubble bursting in its true economic definition. Literature Review à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ The Economic Theory and History behind Bubbles 2.1 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ An introduction to bubbles Essentially an economic bubble is an increase in the price of an asset or stock above its fundamental value and its subsequent decrease in value and implosion on the bubble is referred to as a burst. When asset prices increase speculators are overwhelmed by a sense of euphoria, chasing short term capital gains. A phenomenon that former chairman of the federal reserve Alan Greenspan memorably called irrational exuberance (Nia l Ferguson, The Ascent of Money). Contrarily, when speculatorsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ primitive instincts turn from greed to fear, the bubble created by the initial irrational exuberance can burst with astonishing abruptness; almost overnight. Charles Kindleberger defined a bubble as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½a sharp rise in price of an asset or a range of assets in a continuous process, with the initial rise generating expectations of further rises and attracting new buyers à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ generally speculators interested in profits from trading in the asset rather than its use or earning capacity. The rise is usually followed by a reversal of expectations and a sharp decline in price often resulting in financial crisesà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (Bubble, Bubble, Whereà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s the Housing Bubble?) The initial boost in augmentation of the economy acts as a catalyst for both lenders and investorà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s optimism about the future and asset prices rise swiftly. Nial ferguson refers to investors as an electronic herd, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½happily grazing on positive returns one moment, then stampeding for the farmyard gate the nextà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (Nial Ferguson, 2008, 2009). 2.2 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Bubbles in History The big ten economic bubbles (Charles P Kindleberger, Robert Z Aliber 2005) 1. The Dutch Tulip Bulb Bubble 1636 2. The South Sea Bubble 1720 3. The Mississippi bubble 1720 4. The late 1920s US stock price Bubble 1927-29 5. The increase in bank loans to Mexico and other developing countries in the 1970s 6. The bubble in real estate and stocks in Finland, Norway and Sweden 7. The bubble in real estate and stocks in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and several other Asian countries 1992-97 8. The bubble in real estate and stocks in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and several other Asian countries 1992-97 9. The increase in foreign investment in Mexico 1990-93 10. The Bubble in over the counter stocks in the United States 1995-2000. Also known as the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½.com bubbleà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Over and over again asset, security and stock prices have reached unsustainable highs and subsequently come crashing down. From boom to bust, this process is consistently associated with ruthless insiders exploiting asymmetries of information attempting to make a profit at the cost of first time investors. In Dubai, every three months or so à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Emaarà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ one of the big real estate developers (of which it is alleged that the absolute ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed has a thirty percent stake) released property for sale at increasing prices, almost instigating the bubble themselves very similar to what John Law (a convicted murderer and gambling addict) did with shares of the joint stock company named à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Company of the Westà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (Compagnie dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Occident) which resulted in the Mississippi bubble of 1720(Nial Ferguson, 2008, 2009). All these bubbles in History have followed similar paths; Nial Ferguson believes it possible to dissect all bubbles into five stages. 2.3 Nial Fergusonà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s Five Stage Model (Nial Ferguson, 2008, 2009) 1. Displacement: An incident or innovation in the economy that generates new and lucrative possibilities for investors/speculators. Kindleberger refers to this as the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½expansion stageà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ of the business cycle (Charles P Kindleberger, 2005). In the cases of the Dutch Tulip Bulb, The South Sea and Mississippi Bubbles this displacement was the creation of the Joint Stock Company. In the case of the US .com bubble the displacement or expansion was innovations in technology like the internet. In Dubai It could be argued that the displacement stage of the bubble was when developments were open for sale to foreign investors as opposed to previously when only locals could purchase land and property. This initial process causes a rise in spending which leads to inflated prices and increased consumption which combined translate to economic growth. 2. Euphoria/overtrading: Rising expected profits induce the appreciation in value of assets and shares. Investment soars because credit is in abundance. In Japan in the eighties Japanese investors had access to mountains of credit made available by naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve bankers that didnà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½t even contemplate a crash and the Japanese went on an à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½investment spreeà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. In the US in the 1990s, during the time preceding the crash à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½.domà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ companies had access to almost infinite funds from venture capitalists with distorted perceptions of the future profitability of these firms (Charles P Kindleberger and Robert Z Alibir). Dubai was the same pre crash à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ credit was very accessible; I will asses this further in my à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½analysisà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ segment of the dissertation. 3. Mania/bubble: The anticipation of rapid, easy capital gains entices first time investors and unscrupulous, esoteric brokers cater for this demand, in a ruthles s attempt to sell assets and shares before a crash, which a seasoned broker is capable of predicting. 4. Distress: Insiders become aware that prices of assets and shares exceed their fundamental values and exploit the asymmetries of information by selling at profit. 5. Revulsion/discredit: prices begin to plummet and the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½electronic herdà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ stampedes to exit the market causing the bubble to implode. The value of commodities à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ bonds, stocks, land, buildings and houses decline to levels that are 30 to 40 percent below peak prices (Charles p kindleberger and Robert Z . Aliber, 2008, 2009), this adheres perfectly to residential duelling prices in Dubai (refer to figure 1). (Nial Ferguson, 2008, 2009). The Fundamentals behind this model are asymmetric information, availability to rapid, relatively cheap credit and the capability of capital to flow freely over geographical borders. This five stage model is accurate but basic. I will now progress to more specific models in detail behind the creation and existence of economic bubbles. 2.4 The Hyman Minsky model of instability in the supply of credit. This model created by Hyman Minsky can be used to explain financial fragility in economies. Minsky focuses on changes in the availability of credit. During periods of growth the supply of credit increases and during economic slowdowns this supply decreases. In times of growth, usually following an economic displacement like mentioned in Nial Fergusonà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s model, investors feel more confident about the profitability of a number of investments and seek to finance these investments with credit. In the meantime, lenders become more enthusiastic about providing credit, even for investments, that prior to the expansion, had appeared too risky à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ they become far less risk averse, reducing minimum down payments, minimum margin requirements. For individual lenders the cost of borrowing has to remain competitive too to maintain market share. However, when the mood changes, the economy slows down and fear kicks in, investors act much more cautiously. Lenders react similarly and their risk averseness increases and they supply less credit. Minsky believed that these cyclical changes in the availability of credit are a major catalyst to financial instability and are a factor in causing bubbles (Charles p kindleberger and Robert Z . Aliber, 2008, 2009). I am certain that minskyà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s model was apparent in Dubai and definitely a defining factor of the recent burst. I will go on to prove this in the critical analysis part of the dissertation. Minsky also mentions à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½an over-estimate of prospective returns, or excessive leverageà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (Charles p kindleberger and Robert Z . Aliber, 2008, 2009) during the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½euphoricà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ period. Speculation suggests the acquisition of assets for the capital gain from expected surges in their value as opposed to income generated by one of these assets or for their use. The income generated by an asset or the use of an asset is considered to be the fundamental value of an asset and in bubbles the prices of assets fluctuate far from their fundamental values. This point is made clearer in the next part of the literature review. Minsky also states that a sense of euphoria or depression in one country maybe contagious in another country. I believe that the recent housing bubble in the United States and its subsequent burst influenced the real estate bubble in Dubai and was a significant cause of the crash. 2.5 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Fundamental Value Researchers seem to concentrate on one of the following elements when considering a bubble: rapid appreciation of assets, overly optimistic predictions of future prices, a discrepancy between price and fundamental value and obviously a vast depreciation of assets when the bubble pops (Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith, 2006). Karl Case and Robert Shiller believe that à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½A tendency to view housing as an investment is a defining characteristic of a housing bubbleà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith, 2006). However, Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith, in their 2006 journal titled à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Housing, Housing, where is the housing bubble?à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ disagree. They argue that housing can be considered a legitimate investment and that the best way to spot a bubble is to determine the discrepancy between the actual prices of houses and the fundamental value of these houses. Speculators in general do not make an attempt to calculate the underlying value of a house, they respond to expected capital gains. Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith define a bubble as a scenario where the equilibrium price of an asset is higher than the present value of the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½anticipated cash flow from the assetà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ (Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith, 2006). Nonetheless, fundamental values may rise rapidly (for example an increase in population and therefore an increase in the acquisitions of houses for their use as opposed to expected capital gains, or an increase in rent) may stimulate a legitimate increase in the prices of houses. Equilibrium house prices may also increase rapidly and not necessarily be considered a bubble if their actual price is lower than their underlying fundamental value. They state that the real defining characteristic of a bubble is when equilibrium market prices cannot be answered for by the assets anticipated cash flow. Case and Shiller refer to the real estate market as being populated à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½by amateurs making infrequent transactions on the basis of limited information and with little or no experience in gauging the fundamental value of the properties they are buying and sellingà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½(Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith, 2006). If this is true and I believe it was, in Dubai, to a certain extent (through knowing investors on a personal level) how can one expect for fu ndamental values to equal market prices? Most agents within the real estate market i.e. brokers, buyers and sellers seem to use what is known as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½compsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ when dealing within the real estate market. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Compsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ are the latest sale prices of homes with similar specifications within the same area. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Compsà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ tell us how much other individuals are prepared to pay but not whether these prices are justified by the fundamental value (Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith, 2006). Attempting to demonstrate whether market prices differ from fundamental prices isnà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½t easy. Figures for average real estate prices are infamously imperfect. This is mainly due to the fact that houses are not homogenous in their specifications and environments. However, the National City Corporation use a multiple regression which considers a ratio of house prices to household income in a given area to mortgage rates, population density, the rat io of household income in the given area to the national average and historical prices to determine how much actual prices deviate from their real values (Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith, 2006). The reason a ratio of house price and household income is used is based on theory by Karl case and Shiller that argue that housing prices are a bubble waiting to pop if the average investor is à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½priced out of the marketà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½(Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith, 2006). There are problems with this model e.g. the historic house prices may not be based on fundamental value. Some economists including Edward Leamer argue that if house prices have increased in a larger proportion than rents a bubble exists (Margaret Hwang Smith and Gary Smith, 2006). à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ I will attempt to look at rents versus house prices in my critical analysis section of the dissertation to determine whether this was apparent in Dubai. I will also attempt to look at the population density because I believe that it is relevant to fundamental value because an increase in population causes an increase in the demand for residential properties that will be used as dwellings. Minsky stated that a fundamental value of an asset was to do with is use and the income (rent) generated from the asset. 2.6 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ A brief look at the recent financial crisis in the USA. Hyman minsky stated in his interpretation of a bubble that euphoria or depression in one country can be contagious and spill over into another. I believe that the bursting of the real estate bubble in the states and the subsequent lack of worldwide credit was highly influential in the bursting of Dubaià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s housing bubble. As per usual the great real estate and leverage bubble in the US of 2007 was instigated by a pervasive macroeconomic displacement. Prior to the 2000à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s banks would give loans to home owners and keep those loans as assets in their books (Burton G. Malkiel, 2010). However, p ost 2000 the entire banking system changed. Banks carried on issuing loans for mortgages but instead of holding them as assets on their books they would keep them for a short period of time and then sell them on to investment banks who would bundle different loans with different credit ratings into mortgage backed securities, also known as collateralized debt obligations (Burton G. Malkiel, 2010). Loans are split into different risk classes or tranches. So, low risk loans and high risk loans are bundled together and sold as one financial product which was deemed a good investment. This caused deterioration in lending standards (Burton G. Malkiel, 2010). Employees in charge of originating loans to clients were reckless when assessing the risk of the individualà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s potential default especially when dealing with subprime mortgages because they knew that the bank was only going to hold these loans for a short period of time and then pass them on. Insurance companies were also i nsuring subprime loans with credit default swaps because they were too naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve to foresee mass defaults. These innovations in the banking system made credit easily accessible to individuals who may have not been considered credit worthy before these changes (subprime). Many financial institutions held vast amounts of these new bundled securities based around mortgages and held less equity backed securities and increased their leverage ratios (Burton G. Malkiel, 2010) making them very vulnerable in the case of a crash. Highly accessible credit at attractive rates due to lowered lending standards led to a huge bubble in the prices of houses. The inflation adjusted price of a commonplace home was roughly identical in 1999 as it was in 1899; however, between 2000 and 2006 real home prices doubled (Burton G. Malkiel, 2010). This is portrayed in the following line graph based on data from the Case-Shiller home price index in the US. Figure 2 Case-Shiller Home price index, 1989 = 100. Source: (Burton G. Malkiel, 2010) As you can see from the graph there is a rapid ascent in prices from around 2000 followed by a quick fall in prices starting in 2007. Prices began to decline and euphoria turned to fear. Houses were worth less than the amount of money owed to the banks and individuals began to default in mass. With massive amounts of defaults occurring, the value of the bundled mortgage backed securities or collaterized debt obligations (cdos) decreased rapidly. Many highly leveraged financial institutions holding long term assets financed by the short term mortgage backed securities did not have sufficient liquidity to continue to function (Burton G. Malkiel, 2010). All credit markets were frozen, excluding the US Treasury securities markets and financial institutions did not have sufficient liquidity to cover their short term debts. In the case of a bank an example of a short term debt is a deposit and people began to fear for their deposits and runs on banks happened in the US and UK institutions with vast amount of money invested in the US housing market e.g. Northern Rock. The US government was forced to bail out a number of financial institutions to prevent a total financial collapse (Burton G. Malkiel, 2010). Banks all over the world became cautious about lending money. Amlak finance Dubai stopped lending money all together and I think this was significant in the bursting of the bubble; it ties in directly with Minskyà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s model of cyclical changes in the supply of credit. Panic struck and a worldwide financial crisis ensued. 3 Critical Analysis In this section of my dissertation I will evaluate real life data and literature about the situation in Dubai. What caused the rapid increase in price in the housing market? and what caused the resultant rapid decline in prices. 3.1 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Displacement. Economists appear to agree that every bubble starts with a displacement. A macroeconomic change, or innova tion, that induces pervasive adjustments in how agents within the economy behave and perceive the future. It can also be considered a paradigm shift. In the case of the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½.comà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ bubble the displacement was the availability of the interweb to mass users. In the case of the recent housing and leverage bubble of the US the displacement was innovations in the banking system and the creation of new bundled financial products and collaterized debt obligations. In Dubai I believe that there were three displacing factors: The first displacing factor occurred in May 2002. Dubai was never rich in oil like its neighbouring emirate Abu Dhabi so it focused on creating a hub for tourism and commerce. It also promoted the development of real estate. In 1997 publicly quoted Emaar Properties and Al Nakheel Properties were setup (https://realestate.theemiratesnetwork.com/articles/freehold_property.php). In 1998 emaar started developing the Dubai Marina and the Emirates Livin g Community; however, properties within these developments were released on leasehold contracts which mean that properties are leased out for ninety years as opposed to being owned freehold. These developments were not successful in the market. People were sceptical about the leasehold contracts. Things changed in May 2002 when the crown prince General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktum implemented a new law, stating that ex pats were able to buy property in certain areas of Dubai. The following graph shows all transactions from 1994. The graph is based on data from REIDIN.com a company that provides data and information covering all deals and transactions in Dubai since 1973. The company is an exclusive partner of the Dubai Land Department à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ the real estate registry for the emirate. (REIDIN, DUBAI FOCUS, 2010) Figure 3 Quantity of transactions in Dubai from 1994 (Reidin.com, DubaiFocus, 2010) The graph shows that as of the changes in law about the ownership of real estate from 2002 there is not a significant increase in the quantity of transactions. In fact, there is a decline in transactions until 2005 when quantity of transactions increase rapidly from there onwards. I would still, however, consider the innovations in the legislation behind the ownership of property a displacement because without the changes, ex pats would never have been able to own property on a freehold basis and the bubble would never have happened. I say this because the vast majority of investments into the property market have come from expatriate sources. See the following chart which depicts the value of transactions by nationality. Figure 4 Value (AED) of property transactions by nationality from 1973 (Reidin.com, DubaiFocus, 2010) As you can see from the chart foreign investment is very significant in value and this could never have happened if the changes in legislation had not been made. Also, cross border transactions are a key in the creation of a bubble and as you can see from figure 4 cross border transactions are huge. Another displacing factor was hype generated by the media about talks of a new GCC currency called the Khaleeji. Talks were being had about the possibility of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain creating a new currency for their states. These talks were being had around 2006/2007 and nothing was ever finalised but if it was to happen, especially at a point in time when the dollar was weak, this new currency would be valued higher than the specific currencies of the gulf states and investments in these countries would appear even more attractive to speculators as they would rise in value from the creation of a new currency. This ties in with the next displacing factor which is the weakness of the dollar due to financial fragility in the US. In the Spring of 2006 the dollar weakened dramatically due to financial instability in the US. Towards the end of 2006 it looked as if the exchang e rate was rising towards $2. In April 2007 the Dollar depreciated to over $2 and on the 27th of July 2007 it got to $2.06 the weakest it has been since 1981, it continued to fluctuate around $2 for the next five months and on the 9th of November 2007 it was $2.11. After this point, on average, the pound began to decline in value as the global recession hit the UK. The importance of this analysis about the dollar exchange rate is that it shows that from around 2006 until 2008 the dollar was relatively weak compared to the pound. Transactions for Real Estate were booming during this period as portrayed in figure 3 and a huge portion of these transactions were fuelled by investment from the United Kingdom as portrayed in figure 4. I therefore believe that the weak dollar was statistically significant in the increase of transactions from UK investors. The exchange rate of the Dollar versus the Indian Rupee shows a similar story. From around January 2007 the dollar declines in val ue against the rupee to a peak of around 39 rupee to the dollar. Compare this to a value of around 55 rupee in 2003. Again the weakness of the dollar compared to the Indian rupee can be argued to have catalysed vast investment from Indian investors from 2006 as the dollar was depreciating until late 2008 when the global crisis begun to have consequences on other nations e.g. India and the UK. I therefore consider this a displacement which lead to increases in transactions, increases in prices of property and overly optimistic expected prices. Refer to graphs of the dollar exchange rates versus the pound and rupee in the appendix section of the dissertation. 3.2 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Euphoria/overtrading If you refer back to Nial Fergusonà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s five stage bubble model you will see that after a pervasive macroeconomic displacement in the economy, if it is tending towards a bubble situation, an economy will experience euphoria, also referred to as overtrading. Rising expected profi ts induce the appreciation in value of assets and shares. Investment soars because credit is in abundance. If you refer back to figure 1 you will see that prices begin to rise steadily from 2005/2006. The number of transactions also increases rapidly from around the same period. Nial Ferguson also talks about the abundance of credit; this too ties in with minskys model of the pro cyclical supply of credit. It implies that many of these transactions were fuelled by credit or leveraged. Again this is similar to what was happening in the US before their crash. The following line graph shows the percentage of residential transactions fuelled by credit or leveraged. I have also included the percentage of residential transactions that are classed as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½otherà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. I have put à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½otherà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ transaction types into the equation because a substantial amount of transactions are classed as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½otherà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½otherà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ refers to t ransactions that are none of the following transaction types: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½saleà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½mortgageà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½leasingà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½valuationà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½grantà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½rentà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½compensationà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½pre-registrationà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. Ià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½m not entirely sure as to what types of transaction would be considered as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½otherà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. This, I will consider a limitation in my data; however, this is data provided by a governmental entity and censorship is alive and well in Dubai. Figure 5 Percentage of residential transactions leveraged with credit. What figure 5 shows is a steady increase in the percentage of transactions fuelled by credit until 2006 when there is a vast decline in this percentage and a continuous decrease until 2009. I wonder if the global credit crunch caused by the US crash hit Dubai much earlier than people thought, however why did prices not stop falling until late 2008/2009?. There is a visible pattern here; as transactions leveraged by mortgages decreases, transactions classed by Dubai Land Department à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ the real estate registry for the emirate as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½otherà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ increase. This appears to be rather dubious in my opinion; maybe the global credit crunch hit Dubai but in an attempt to maintain high prices until ruthless inside investors with asymmetries of information could leave the market with huge profits the quantity of transactions was kept high by the government, who have invested interests. Emaar Properties and Al Nakheel Properties are publicly quoted companies but ownership is predominately by wealthy governmental authorities. We all know that OPEC controls the supply of oil to maintain high prices; maybe something similar happened with property in Dubai. Nial Ferguson does mention ruthless inside investors have played a significant role in past bubbles; I think this could be apparent here. (Nial Ferguson, 2008, 2009). The graph shows that vast amounts of credit were used to leverage investments until 2006 when the amount declines rapidly. Probably because banks were influenced by the credit crunch in the US and feared they may have inadequate liquidity. I will analyse the pro cyclical supply of credit in a later section of my dissertation. 3.3 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Mania/Bubble and distress Nial Ferguson refers to the next the next stage as mania or bubble, where first time investors are enticed to the market and seasoned investors who can predict a crash scramble to sell their investments at a profit before the crash. If you refer back to figure 3 that shows the quantity of transactions I would say that the mania/bubble stage was occurring from 2007 to 2008 at when the quantity of transactions are skyrocketing. At this point too, prices are still very high (refer back to figure 1). The closer to late 2008 the sillier the investment, as bubble bursts in october 20 08. Therefore transactions around about this time have to be from first time investors who cannot see a crash. This is referred to by Nial ferguson as the distress period. 3.4 Revulsion/discredit Prices begin to plummet and the à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½herdà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ stampedes to exit the market causing the bubble to implode. This is apparent in late 2008 and 2009. Transactions stay high (Figure 3) but prices are declining rapidly (40 percent on average). So, investors are struck by fear and rush to sell properties even if it is done at significant losses for fear or even harsher losses or a total collapse of the market. Nobody knew that Abu Dhabi would bail Dubai out. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Property In Dubai A Bubble That Burst" essay for you Create order

The Roots Of Childhood Marriages - 2387 Words

The roots of childhood marriages and forced marriages in the village of Khardji, Yemen from I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali and Delphine Minoui, Nujood’s story has been related to patriarchal societies within western Asia, women’s complicity and religion in which violates human and women’s rights. I have been researching sources that can explain on how the government officials have done nothing to stop childhood marriages and why women from past generations inculcate these norms to their children to have arranged marriages and what are the changes that Nujood’s story has raised internationality. Yemen is one the poorest country in Western Asia. It is reasonable to observe arranged marriages as the only solution of surviving scarcity. It is unacceptable for all the girls in this country to be forced into marriages, losing their opportunities to have a chance to succeed in life; their happiness, careers and achieving a true love, instead, the y just have to obey what they are told to do, is what drives me forward into this research. According to Svanemyr J, â€Å"Child marriage, defined as a formal marriage or informal union before age 18, is a reality for both boys and girls; however girls are disproportionately the most affected. Globally nearly one in three girls are married before the age of 18, and one in seven is married before the age of 15. An estimated 10 million child marriages occur every† (1). Childhood marriages in Yemen have been factual for centuries,Show MoreRelatedChild Marriage And The United Nations Human Rights913 Words   |  4 PagesSouth Asia, forced marriage is more common in child marriage. The girls are getting married at age where they are learning to live their childhood. 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Australian Taxation Practical Introduction -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Australian Taxation Practical Introduction? Answer: Introducation Fringe benefits have been defined by Brownlee (2016) as an added advantage given by the employer which comes along with the money wage and salary gained by the employees as the compensation for their services. A few typical examples of a fringe benefit are a car provided to the employee or additional health care cost of the employee borne by the employer. A fringe benefit tax results out of a fringe benefit. This tax is calculated separate to income tax for a period of 1st April to 31st March. The provisions of the Fringe benefits Tax assessment Act 1986 provide rules to determine the Taxable value of fringe benefits. Any benefit which is additional to the basic salary of the employee provided by the employer is to be considered as a fringe benefit as also discussed by the judge in the case of John Holland Group Pty Ltd Anor v. Commissioner of Taxation [2015] FCAFC 82. The FBTAA through sub-section 7(1) set out provisions towards a car fringe benefit. According to the section a car is considered as fringe benefit if it is given by the employer and is held by the employee for a private use purpose or if the purpose for which the car has been given is a private use purpose. It is irrelevant whether the car is put to private use by the employee or any person associated with them (Morgan Mortimer and Pinto 2013). The FBTAA through section 9 sets out provisions for calculating the taxable value of fringe benefit of the car by a process which is called statutory formula method. Under this process the cars cost is required for the calculation. No consideration is provided under the process to the public or private use of the car by the employee or his associates. The FBTAA through sub-section 10A and 10B sets out provisions for calculating the taxable value of fringe benefit of the car under a process called the operating cost method. The cars operating cost is required for calculation of tax under this process. Contrary to the statutory method the private and public use of the car is separately considered for calculation under this method (Oestreich and Keane 2016). The statutory rate is used for the purpose of multiplication with the cost of the car to derive the fringe benefit tax. The present statutory rate subsequent to the budget of 2011 for all cars is 20%. The FBTAA through subsection 11(1) states that to calculate the deemed depreciation a rate of 25% needs to be applied. Subsection 11(2) states that to calculate the deemed interest a statutory rate of 5.65% need to be applied. The methods yielding the lower value is used for the purpose of tax computation (Finkelstein 2014). Application of relevant law In the given situation it has been stated that Charlie works as an employee of shiny homes Pty Ltd. The employer provided the employee with 4 wheel drive sedan valued at $70,000 on 1st September. This means that the car is a fringe benefit. Thus the computation of fringe benefit tax is to be done under statutory and operating cost method. It can been seen in the situation that the formula which provides a lower value of fringe benefit tax is the statutory formula and as per the above discussed legal provisions this method has to be considered for taxable value of car fringe benefit. It has been provided in the case study that Charlie had parked the car his garage in the evening and subsequently in a private parking. Thus under FBTAA section 39 A as the parking is not done in a place owned by the employer it is not liable for car parking fringe benefit tax. However the employer is liable to pay tax in relation to the accommodation provided to the employee for honeymoon purpose. In the case study it has been provided that Allan and Betty want to change their house and thus they have sold their Melbourne home and bought a large house in central Victoria. As there is no profit involved in this case there is no chance of any income tax implications (Schenk 2016). Bettys income as a part time accountant and Allans income as a locum doctor is liable under section 6.5 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to be considered for tax calculation (Pyrmont 2014). The popularity with Allan has among is client makes him receive scones and cakes as a token of appreciation addition to his fee. However as these items do not have market value they are not considered for income tax assessment. However as the wine which Allan has received is worth $360 it is liable to be assessed for income tax under ITAA 1997. According to Pope (2016) a hobby is a leisure or pastime activity which is carried out in a spare time for pleasure or recreation. However a business activity is as a whole commercial in nature and has the intention of making profit. There are certain indicators which have been provided by taxation rulingTR 79/11 used to differentiate between a hobby and a business. These are as follows Whether the purpose or character of the activity is significantly commercial Whether there is more than just intention to indulge in the business by the person Whether the purpose of the purpose is to make profit and there is a prospect of profit in the activity Whether there is regularity and repetition involved in the activity Whether the activity is similar to a hobby or a business activity Whether the activity is planned and organization so that it can make money Whether the activity is described better as a hobby These provisions had been discussed by the court in the case of Vartuli v. Chief Commissioner of State Revenue (NSW) [2015] NSWCA 372 where the court held that any activity for the purpose of making profit is a business. As per Jones v Federal Commissioner of Taxation - [1963] HCA 17 when a hobby turns into a business the profit derived from it are considered under Income tax assessment. It has been provided in the situation that the hobby of Betty of making Marmalade has turned into a business as she now has the intention of making profit. In addition the activity is subjected to repetition and recurrence. Thus the profit made by her would be assessed for the purpose of computing income tax under ITAA 1997. According to the Australian Taxation office, Trade exchanges and Barter System is subjected to same GST and tax implications which are imposed on any other regular credit or cash transactions. These provisions are also discussed through the case of Sterling Guardian Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation - [2006] FCAFC 12. Thus the barter system which has been entered upon by Betty and Allan is subjected to have the same implications as any credit or cash transaction under GST and ITAA. References Brownlee, W.E., 2016.Federal Taxation in Australia. Cambridge University Press. Finkelstein, M., 2014. Cases on Federal Taxation (Book Review). Fringe Benefit Tax Assessment Act 1986 (Cth) Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) John Holland Group Pty Ltd Anor v. Commissioner of Taxation [2015] FCAFC 82. Jones v Federal Commissioner of Taxation - [1963] HCA 17 Morgan, A., Mortimer, C. and Pinto, D. 2013.A practical introduction to Australian taxation law. North Ryde [N.S.W.]: CCH Australia Oestreich, N. and Keane, M., 2016. ACCTG 503 Federal Taxation of Individuals. Pope, T.R., 2016.Pearson's Federal Taxation: 2017 Comprehensive. Prentice Hall. Pyrmont, 2014 NSW Australian Taxation Law Cases. Thomson Reuters. Schenk, D.H., 2016.Federal Taxation of S Corporations. Law Journal Press. Sterling Guardian Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation - [2006] FCAFC 12. Woellner, R., Barkoczy, S., Murphy, S., Evans, C. and Pinto, D. 2014 (n.d.).Australian taxation law.